For the Sake of Love
by thefreckledprincess
Summary: Kristoff and Anna plan to marry, but are forbidden by Arendelle's royal council.
1. Chapter 1

Kristoff looked across the table. No. This couldn't be. They couldn't be taking Anna from him. No! She had just become his. They loved each other. Couldn't the council see that? Who cared about age old rules saying she had to marry someone of royal blood. That was crazy. No one followed those rules anyway right? He sighed. There really was nothing he could do. Anna couldn't do anything either from the looks of it. He glanced at her. She was so small. And vulnerable. He thought of Hans, the Prince of the Southern Isles who had almost killed her. His fist clenched involuntarily under the table. Noticing, he released it. No use getting worked up over something that had already been taken care of. But just thinking of Anna marrying another power seeking prince who didn't love her made him angry. _Calm Kristoff, calm._ He thought to himself. _Don't show it, don't scare her._ Kristoff looked Anna over. She stared nervously ahead and kept her hands clasped tightly together. He knew if she let go, she would begin to twist her fingers around each other, fidgeting nervously. She looked determined. Good, he thought. Nothing could stop Anna when she was determined. Nothing. This led him to think of how she hadn't let anything stop her from finding her sister and being convinced that she could unfreeze the eternal winter the queen had accidentally cast on Arendelle. It had gone so far that Anna had completely frozen to ice. She had been saved by the fact that she had given her life to save her sister, an act of true love. Oh yes, Anna was a determined and feisty one. And she could definitely get what she wanted.

"I'm sorry Princess Anna, but the law is the law. Our great leaders put it into place years ago to insure that Arendelle would always remain under control."

"But can't you like, just change it once? That's not gonna hurt anything, right?"

"It may not hurt anyone now, but what will the people begin to do if they see the _princess_ isn't following the law?"

Anna slumped into her chair and glumly crossed her arms before muttering, "They wouldn't even know. Nobody even _knows_ about that stupid law anyway."

"Pardon, I didn't hear what you said, your highness." The head councilman leaned closer waiting for an answer. This could very well become a disaster.

"I said-"

"She said that she was grateful that you took the time to consider her problem. She wishes you all the best." Elsa quickly interjected before Anna could continue and make matters even worse.

"That's not what I-" One glance from Elsa, and Anna quickly shut her mouth.

"And I thank you, wise councilmen. But Anna, Kristoff, and I really must be going. Pressing matters, royal ice harvesting, among other things. It was an honor to speak with you. Until next time." Elsa gracefully curtsied, and then took Anna's arm and tugged her up out of the chair. Anna, at the last minute remembered her royal etiquette and offered a clumsy curtsy.

"Until next time, Queen Elsa, Princess Anna, Royal Ice Harvester. We look forward to your next visit." The councilmen gave a nod of their heads in acknowledgment.

"Have a good day." Elsa turned and walked briskly out of the room, Anna in tow. Kristoff was the last to file out of the ornately carved room, as he followed the short clip of Elsa's heels, and the long thump of Anna's boots.

"Elsa, couldn't you have done something more?" Anna angrily yanked her arm out of Elsa's grip once the door had been shut on them. "I mean sure, laws keep people safe and all, but come on. Couldn't they have bent this one? Just once?"

"Anna, there was nothing I could do. I'm sorry, but laws are laws and they are there to protect us and our people. This isn't just about you and your interests you know."

"I am thinking about our people. I'm pretty sure they want me to marry Kristoff. I mean they all feel bad for him. He's so smelly and awkward and used to be grumpy and all alone with only a reindeer and some trolls as friends, and they probably feel bad so they want him to marry me."

"Hey-"

"And none of them even know about that law anyway right? I mean if somebody does know it and they question us at the wedding we can just say we didn't see it. Like maybe that page fell out of the old, giant book of laws or something, I don't know." Anna flung her hands into the air.

"Anna, I wish I could help. I really do. But there is nothing, no rule I can bend, no pardon I can extend, nothing. I'm truly sorry. I would like nothing more than to throw that law out the window, but I can't. It's above even my power." The queen rested her hand on her sister's arm, but Anna just pushed it aside and ran her fingers through her strawberry blonde hair.

"There has to be something we can do. I can't just not marry Kristoff. He went through all that trouble to propose."

"It wasn't trouble-"

"Anna, I'm sorry. But the two of you can't get married, and you're going to need to move on. It will be hard, but it needs to happen. Spend some time alone. And I don't think it's a good idea for Kristoff to be around anymore. I'm sorry." Elsa turned to move away, but froze when Anna shouted, "Elsa you can't just take away his job too! What are you, heartless? Here I am, losing the love of my life, and you're here telling him he can't even work at the castle anymore!" She burst into tears, and took off running.

"That's not what I meant! Anna!" Elsa started to chase after her, but Kristoff stopped her.

"I'll go to her. Sorry, but I don't think she wants you right now."

Elsa sighed and fiddled with her dress. "I think you're right. Please let her know I didn't mean it like that! I just meant you shouldn't see each other as much, so it wouldn't cause more pain." She sighed and then exclaimed, "Oh, sometimes I hate being royalty." The queen sunk down on a nearby bench and put her head in her hands. Kristoff was unsure of what to say. How do you comfort a queen who doesn't want to be queen? He scratched the back of his neck and coughed. She looked up at him and said,

"What are you still doing here? Go comfort my sister." He didn't need to be told twice.

Kristoff found Anna sobbing in the library. She was hiding on the far end in a cupboard under the shelves, clutching her favorite romance novel.

"Hey feisty pants." He sat down beside the cupboard. The only reply he got was sniffles.

"Anna, you gotta talk to me. From the looks of it, we don't have much time left together." That only made Anna cry harder. _Oh man, that was not the right thing to_ _say. _

"Hey, Anna, hey. I can't fit in there, so you kinda have to come out." He poked her knee, and Anna let out a tiny giggle in between sobs. Kristoff wasn't even sure how that was possible, but it was Anna, so it didn't surprise him.

"Come on, princess, come on out." She poked her tear streaked face out of the cupboard.

"Please don't call me that awful name. It only serves as a reminder that we can't-we can't-" she burst into sobs again and buried her face in her arms.

"Hey, come here." He gently pulled her out of the cupboard and wrapped his arms around her.

"It's gonna be okay. You'll see. We'll work this out together." Kristoff stroked her head hoping it was soothing. He wasn't really sure, since that was what the trolls did, but maybe people didn't really do that? Oh well, her sobs had quieted and she had wrapped her arms around him as well. They sat holding each other for a moment, and then Kristoff shifted her so he could see her face.

"I brought you something." He pulled out a thin box with a shiny silver cover. Anna grinned and swiped at the tears on her cheeks; then lifted the lid and peeked inside.

"Chocolate!" She squealed and immediately grabbed a piece and popped it in her mouth. Kristoff smiled at how easily Anna could be brought back to her normal happy self, as her watched the smile slip back onto her freckled face.

"I'm still upset about everything you know," Anna stated, her mouth full of chocolate. "I know you think I'm just happy me, but on the inside I'm really angry." She ate another piece.

"I'm not giving up that easy." She licked her fingers. "Nope. Elsa and those council members are gonna realize that it will take more than some law to keep me away from marrying you."

"That's my feisty pants." Kristoff kissed her forehead and smiled.

"Exactly. Your feisty pants. And I plan on staying that way forever." Anna stood up and brushed the chocolate bits from her dress. She reached for Kristoff's arm and tried pulling him up.

"Come on-oof! You're heavy," she puffed, out of breath from trying to pull him up, "I think-" she inhaled, "I've got a plan."


	2. Chapter 2

"Come on suitcase, I know you can do it. Just close!" Anna jumped on her suitcase once more, trying hard to get it to close over her mound of clothes.

"Ugh this is so hard! Why won't it close?"

"Maybe you should add more stuff. That ought to help it close. " Kristoff said, his voice full of sarcasm.

"I could do without your sarcasm, thanks." She put her hand on her hip and arched an eyebrow at him. " What I could use would be your help closing this." Anna motioned with her hand towards the overflowing suitcase.

"I'm not sure if I can really be that much help with that." Kristoff eyed the huge pile. The suitcase almost wasn't visible. He could just barely make out a corner and a handle.

"I thought you were a strong ice harvester, all big and tough."

"This has nothing to do with strength." Kristoff folded his muscular arms.

"Oh yeah? Well, I bet if I was stronger I could close this easily!" She mimicked him by crossing her arms.

"I doubt that. With the amount of clothes you stuffed in there, I doubt anyone could get it closed." He watched as Anna jumped on it once again. Surprisingly, it clicked shut.

"I do not have too many clothes in here. See? It just shut." She triumphantly grinned up at Kristoff. Then, as if to spite her, the suitcase sprung open, sending several dresses flying out across her floor.

"Oh yeah, you totally closed it." He chuckled, Anna glared.

"So maybe I had one too many dresses. But that's okay, I can take one out." She glanced at her floor that was scattered with clothes.

"One?" He raised an eyebrow at the huge mound spilling out of her suitcase.

"Alright, so maybe more than one." Anna began picking up her brightly colored garments off the carpeted floor.

"You don't need many dresses. It's not like you're going to be living in another castle." Kristoff shrugged and settled in one of the comfy chairs Anna had in her room. He thought of the trolls and how he only had one change of clothes while living with them.

"I know. That's why I'm only bringing a few." She looked up at her closet door. "I left a ton in there."

Kristoff chose not to comment and decided to change topics.

"Anna, where exactly are you planning on going? I know you want to run off, but run to where?"

"Well, I figured we'd think of something." Anna answered without looking up.

"Any ideas though?" He picked up a book on the side table beside his chair and flipped through it. "It is something we should figure out before we leave."

"Oh, well I thought you might have somewhere, like up in the mountains or something."

Kristoff shrugged. There were a few little cabins he could take her too. But not any with two rooms. Maybe he'd take her to the trolls first.

"I can find somewhere. Are you almost done?" He glanced again at the pile, minus a few dresses, that had overtaken the suitcase. Anna pulled a few more dresses out and marched back to her closet. She popped out rather quickly, leaving Kristoff guessing that she had simply dumped them on the floor for a maid to pick up later.

"Look! I'm taking some out!" She grinned, obviously pleased with herself, and took out a few more.

"Great!" Kristoff half heartedly responded.

To say he was uncertain about this plan, would be an understatement. The last time Anna had run off had been to find her sister, and that had not gone so well, with Anna ending up almost dying. Sure, there were a few good things that came out of that, like Elsa unfreezing Arendelle and becoming friends with her sister again, his new title of official Ice Master and Deliver, and yes of course he and Anna hitting it off, but he couldn't help but worry. Would he be able to protect her?

Anna didn't let him dwell on those thoughts for much longer.

"Come on!" She called, trying hard to drag her suitcase across the floor, while eating a chocolate bar and balancing a book on her head.

"Anna, what are you doing?"

"Multitasking." The book fell, and Anna's nose wrinkled in frustration. "Well, I'm trying to anyway. Elsa says it's something I should learn, because it's a skill princesses need to know." Kristoff picked up the book and took the suitcase from her. He left her the chocolate bar.

"Won't it not matter whether you act like a princess or not once you run away? Isn't that the whole point of running away?"

"No, the whole point is not escaping my princess skills and duties. It's marrying you. Were you even listening during that whole council meeting?"

"I listened to most of it." He busied himself with moving her suitcase down the hall.

Was Anna imagining things, or were his cheeks pinker than they just had been?

"Most of it? What else were you doing?" She narrowed her eyes at him.

"Um." He was blushing, Anna was sure of it.

"What were you like staring at the wall or something?"

"Not the wall..."

"Then what? What in that whole boring room was so interesting that you just had to stare it instead of listening to the oh so important meeting that said we couldn't marry, hm?" Seriously. She had been able to listen. How could he not? This was Kristoff, serious, deep thinker, good listener, Kristoff.

When he didn't answer, she pressed harder.

"Kristoff, tell me." She crossed her arms and leaned closer.

"Um, there was something sitting directly across from me that was very distracting." He blushed and waited for her to figure it out.

"But it was only me sitting across from you." She giggled; not realizing what he meant. Kristoff nodded once. She saw his serious look and something clicked.

"Wait. You mean, me? You were staring at me?"

"Uh yeah..." His cheeks - if it was even possible - turned even redder. Anna squealed and threw her arms around him.

"That's _so_ cute!" She giggled again and hugged him tighter. He smiled and kissed her head. Anna grabbed his hand and tugged him after her.

"Let's go!" She giggled and bounced and dragged a dorky grinning Kristoff down the long hall. Her excited chatter echoed through the halls as she told him of her plans for them to run off, get married, and then come back and celebrate after. The council wouldn't be able to do anything, since they'd already be married. They would be free to be married and live in the castle for a good long time. After a huge celebration, of course. And then she could explain it all to Elsa.

Elsa.

Oh. Maybe now would be a good time to explain. Then at least Elsa wouldn't be mad when she found out Anna and Kristoff had left. Maybe she would even be happy! Yes, telling Elsa now was definitely a good idea. She would surely understand everything.

Anna turned to Kristoff and put a hand on his arm, signaling him to wait a moment.

"I'll be back." She whispered, then kissed his cheek. She ran lightly down the hall and turned left. She slowed and took a moment to carefully smooth her hair and dress. Anna wanted to make sure Elsa understood that she knew exactly what she was doing, and yes this was a well thought out plan and certainly not a disastrous thrown together in one minute plan. Anna was well known for those kinds of plans. But nope, this was not one of those. She had sat and thought for a good _ten minutes_ figuring out how this could work. Nothing would mess it up.

"Your majesty, these came for the princess today." Kai's voice stopped Anna's fist from knocking on the door. She pressed herself up against the wall and peered into the room through the door that hung slightly ajar.

"What are they?" Elsa asked, her voice cool and even.

"Letters from neighboring kingdoms. Princes asking for Princess Anna's hand in marriage."

Marriage? _Marriage? _But she was marrying Kristoff!

"Leave them here. I'll read them later."

Wait what? Elsa was going to read them later? She was considering it? Anna pushed away from the wall and ran back to Kristoff. Thoughts of explaining her plan to Elsa long gone.

"Let's leave. Now." She angrily stomped down the hall.

"Whoa, slow down. What happened? Where are we going?" Kristoff quickly chased after her, dragging her suitcase.

"As far away from here as possible."

With that, Anna threw open the castle doors and ran out into the fresh air.

No more council.

No more stupid laws saying she had to marry royalty.

No more princes from neighboring kingdoms.

Just her and Kristoff and Sven and the freedom to make their own decisions.


End file.
